In Alex Moore's technique book. The very first chart in the Waltz section hasn't been performed that way for many years. The Closed Change, either backward or forward you will see that once step one is in place, step two goes straight out to the side and then the closing of the feet takes place. The way it is done today after step one is in place the now moving foot comes under the body before going to the side. If anyone is being taught or allowed to do different I would suggest they try for themselves and see which is the better and do the same on any simular steps. This now gives us one type of stepping back or forward in any of the Swing Dances. If you put a little pressure when going backwards on the heel of the moving foot you will find it adds to your ability to balance. If we now go to the next page which is a Natural Turn the moving foot passes under the body at the time the turn takes place. I seem to remember some discusion a while back about being able to lift the moving foot off the floor after it is is in place under the body in practise which proves i believe that a person is perfectly balanced. Correct me if I am wrong but it came from a lecture by Andrew Sinkinson. My apologies to Alex, but he did have to write as it was being done in those days. His hands were tied.
When doing a Backward Lock in the Quickstep as you draw the left foot to Lock a little bit of pressure on the heel will not go astray. From there you can find other places where this technique can be applied. IIoka

Pressure on the moving foot might help control a beginner's poorly aimed movement, but with good aim it is wholly unecessary.

As for being able to lift the moving foot off the floor to prove balance. Well, first it doesn't prove balance unless you can stay in that position. Certainly there is a point in each step where (if you were not already moving) you could hold the position indefinitely - you are balanced. But during most of the duration of the step, you are not balanced, for the simple reason that your body weight is not over your only standing foot. It doesn't matter if you lift the moving foot or keep it on the floor - as long as it is not supporting your body weight, it cannot contribute to the physics of your balance.

What a little moving foot pressure could do though is contribute to your SENSE of balance - it uses one of your five senses (touch) to give you feedback to improve your aim, but it does not actually contribute to supporting your body. Again, beginners need that, experienced and well practiced dancers usually aim well enough that they don't need these after the fact corrections unless something unexpected happens.

"In Alex Moore's technique book. The very first chart in the Waltz section hasn't been performed that way for many years. The Closed Change, either backward or forward you will see that once step one is in place, step two goes straight out to the side and then the closing of the feet takes place."

The line drawn for the path of the 2nd step is most certainly NOT STRAIGHT TO THE SIDE!!! There is mot definetly a change of direction part way through the movement, from forward/back to sideways - drawn more clearly on the lady's chart than the man's unfortunately.

It seems to me that what is likely happening is that the 2nd step swing forwards as the standing heel rises and the moving KNEE arives under the body. From there - before the man's moving foot can close - the body pushes sideways out of the inside edge of the standing toe and over into the position of step two.

So there is most definitely a close towards before the sideways movement; the only question is how complete that is - apparently more complete for the backwards action than for the forwards one.

There must be some pressure on the moving foot other wise it is in flight and out of any control untill it lands once again on the floor. The idea of lifting the foot from the floor and putting it down again in practise magnifies the need to dance all the body weight from foot to foot. Many people are none committal especially in the Foxtrot. They never fully go onto the foot carrying the weight. The war cry here is stay on the supporting leg longer and dance from foot to foot. Or balanced to balance. Do that and we are part way there. There being a better dancer.

"There must be some pressure on the moving foot other wise it is in flight and out of any control untill it lands once again on the floor."

It is perfectly in control without ANY MOVING FOOT PRESSURE provided that:

1) you aim it properly

and

2) your moving foot is strong enough to carry your entire body weight on the pads of its toes (not the ball of the foot - ultimately you will have to go to the pads of the toes of one foot, not due to extereme rise, but to extreme forward position of the weight before you leave the foot)

If you can't do these things, you probably want to make your movements smaller.

Moving foot pressure can have some role in letting you feel where you are... but if IT MUST NOT PLAY ANY ROLE IN SUPPORTING THE BODY.

"The idea of lifting the foot from the floor and putting it down again in practise magnifies the need to dance all the body weight from foot to foot. Many people are none committal especially in the Foxtrot. They never fully go onto the foot carrying the weight."

If they keep some body weight in the moving foot as you appear to advocate, obviously they won't go fully onto the other foot. If they use only the standing foot as I advocate, then obvioulsy they will.

"The war cry here is stay on the supporting leg longer and dance from foot to foot. Or balanced to balance. Do that and we are part way there. There being a better dancer."

You should keep all weight off the moving leg, and in that sense you do stay "on" the supporting leg.

But you must not make the FATAL MISTAKE OF TRYING TO STAY "OVER" THE SUPPORTING FOOT. If you do that, you movement will be halting an choppy.

You must develop a williness to PROJECT YOUR BODY BEYOND THE STANDING FOOT, INTO IMBALANCE. Wihtout this you will never develop smooth and gracefull movement.

And it really should not be an intellecutal stretch, given that you've been doing the same thing in walking every day of your life since age 2!!!

These few words answer all the questions. We do not dance as we walk. Or if you like walking is nothing like dancing. When we walk we all lift our foot from the floor. When we dance our feet skim the floor. Striding is not dancing. Keeping the weight on the supporting foot longer will allow us to go to the full extent of our drive and is the only way you will be able to have two straight legs with the weight suspended between the heel of the front foot and the toe of the back foot. Exactly as it is written in the technique books and demonstrated on DVD' s . If I dance as I walk I will be continuously standing on one leg with a partner also continuously standing on one leg and I will literally fall onto my forward step from the push off the standing foot. Anyway there is no argument here. In the technique books a Forward or Backward Walk is explained in detail Pages 9. 10. 12 . page 11 is a picture.